Finding new sales opportunities in the photography market is an ongoing challenge. As part of Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends’ ongoing research into the equipment ownership, attitudes and behaviors of consumers, we recently discovered a very promising group of people. We call them “aspiring photographers.”
Aspiring photographers are people who are no longer satisfied with just taking smartphone photos. They have a passion for photography and want to feed it by taking their skills to a new level. This group will want to invest in the right cameras, lenses and accessories to help them express themselves as photographers. Moreover, they wish to improve their knowledge of photography through in-person or online educational courses or seminars.
In our study, we found that about one-third of picture takers expect to move up to a more advanced level of photography within the next five years. Furthermore, slightly more than a third of these aspiring photographers already own an interchangeable-lens camera; 37% are considering buying one in the near future.
It is not surprising that Canon and Nikon are the most popular brands of DSLRs owned; while Sony scores highest among mirrorless camera owners. DSLRs are more popular than mirrorless as the type of camera under consideration. However, with the influx of new mirrorless models, this could change.
We will continue to actively investigate and monitor this emerging group of photographers. It is our recommendation that the photography industry should focus more attention on this group, to ensure a steady flow of camera, lens and accessory sales.
To read the full DIR State of the Imaging Market 2019 story, Click here.
About the Digital Imaging Reporter publication/article
Each year Digital Imaging Reporter reaches out to the leaders of the imaging industry to ask them for their perspective on how the industry is doing. As part of our annual State of the Industry report, we also ask them about the prospects for the coming year.
